As a long time fan of the Pacers I found my interest in the NBA completely gone with the retirement of Reggie Miller. I can still remember being in Market Square Arena for the NBA draft back in 1987 when the Pacers had the 7th pick. I can remember the crowd booing when we picked Miller instead of Steve Alford ... how'd that turn out

With the offseason moves Larry Legend made I find my interest coming back around slowly. Trading O'Neal for TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and Roy "freaking" Hibbard has to be the move of the year. O'Neal was a solid player who just couldn't be a leader. Adding Ford and another PG later makes that stupid punk Tinsley expendable. IMO Hibbard is going to be a stud. You can't teach 7'2" or his defensive presence.

He then followed it up with another outstanding trade. Sending Ike Diogu and the Bayless to Portland for Jack, Brandon Rush, and Josh McRoberts. Jack is an excellent backup PG/ insurance policy for Ford. Now the Pacers can guard quick PG's and physical PG's. McRoberts might never be more than another Troy Murphy but that's not bad, plus he is a local boy. The key in this is Brandon Rush. I think he is going to be a stud. Also the Pacers have his older brother Kareem to mentor him.

I think getting rid of O'Neal was addition by subtraction so anyone in return was a good deal. Ford is a solid PG i will agree but Hibbert is a big question mark. He never really got the opportunity to flourish in the Georgetown system so it will be interesting how he is brought along. He definitely has a lot of potential. As for the starting lineup i agree it is decent and young but may have some growing pains initially with all of the new players. Of course it will be a lot better than my Bulls who seemingly cannot seem to catch a break, now that Rose is done for the summer.

The best of luck with TJ Ford. I have been a fan of the Pacers since the days of the ABA, and I think TJ is as much of a risk,as the Raptors acquiring O'Neal, but I would be happy to be wrong on both counts, as I have always had a soft spot for the Pacers and would be just as happy to see them do well as Toronto. I have seen the Pacers more than any other team since we were given a franchise, and even attended a NBA/ABA doubleheader when I was a kid.

My first NBA game was in 1973 against the Atlanta Hawks and "Pistol" Pete Maravich against the Buffalo Braves with Bob McAdoo and Randy Smith, as the Braves played 15 games in Toronto over a five year period as they struggled with attendance in Buffalo. I only wish we gotten a team back then.

I would cetainly have to agree on that, but what I saw with TJ last year disturbed me in the sense that when he wasn't on the floor he was sulking, can you say Vince Carter. Oh thats right, we had him to. If this doesn't make sense, I just woke up. LOL

Mike, I just looked it up, and the ABA doubleheader that was played in Toronto was on January 14,1972, and the first game of the doubleheader was between the Indiana Pacers and the Memphis Pros, and the second game was between the Dallas Chapparals and the Kentucky Colonels. The attendance for the games were 7,225 which would have been a good crowd at the time.

I was only 12 years old, and loved getting the chance to see my first pro basketball games, and the Pacers and the Colonels were my favorite teams. The tickets only cost 10.00, which I guess was quite a bit considering it was the early 70's and the salaries were not that high.

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